City red card appeal is successful

ELGIN City have successfully appealed the red cards shown to defenders Sean Crighton and Jamie Duff in Saturday’s defeat against Berwick.

Elgin City boss Barry Wilson won the red card appeal.

Manager Barry Wilson lodged the appeal after watching video footage of both dismissals and maintaining his view that the decisions were wrong.

He travelled to Hampden Stadium on Thursday to plead a case for wrongful dismissal.

Duff's red card was rescinded, while Crighton’s was reduced to a yellow card offence, meaning both are free to play at Stirling Albion this weekend.

Referee David Somers, in his final match before retiring, showed a straight red to Crighton for a first-half tackle which won the ball.

And early in the second half he sent Duff packing for blocking a Berwick shot on the goal-line, a handball offence in the ref’s view when video evidence seemed to suggest it struck his chest. Wilson revealed that Somers accepted he got both decisions wrong after he looked at the footage himself.

“The ref has seen the video evidence and fair play to him, it seems he has admitted his mistake,” Wilson said. “Some refs maybe wouldn’t do that.”